Hubble Trouble

As NASA releases the James Webb Space Telescope’s first images, we focus our lens on its predecessor: the Hubble Space Telescope. Prepare for liftoff, as we explore how America’s first large space telescope went from a “billion-dollar blunder” to one of history’s most important scientific instruments.

Guests: 

• Samantha Thompson, curator of science and technology at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum
• Robert Smith, space historian; author of Hubble: Imaging Space and Time
• Jeffrey Hoffman, NASA astronaut who repaired Hubble in 1993
• Sandra Faber, professor of astronomy & astrophysics at University of California Observatories/Lick Observatory; helped develop the fix for Hubble

Listen now: